Police TAC units sweep through city

With nine arrests, eight guns, nine small decks and five bricks of heroin confiscated, Thursday was a busy day for the Trenton Police Department Tactical Units 1 and 2. The TAC units were working as part of the county-wide violent crime task force, which includes the Mercer County prosecutor’s Office, the Mercer County sheriff’s office, and each of the county’s police departments. On Thursday, the TAC units under the command of Lt. Leonard Aviles worked with the prosecutor’s office and sheriffs targeting violent offenders.

“We compiled a list of offenders we think have a propensity to commit violent crimes,” Sgt. Darren Zappley of TAC 1 said. “We just looked up individual warrants and started picking them up.”

5:00 A.M. “SLOW OUT OF BED”

One of the names on the list was Isiah Harris, 25, of Trenton, who had an outstanding warrant. Police arrived at 400 block of Stuyvesant Avenue, where the homeowner let TAC 1 Det. Noel Santiago and Det. Tony Abarno from the prosecutor’s office into the house and led them to a second floor bedroom where Harris was in bed with his girlfriend. The two detectives told Harris there was a warrant for his arrest, but Harris struggled to get out of bed because he said he had suffered a leg injury. Harris was shot twice in the leg in a Nov. 4 shooting on the 400 block of West Hanover Street. Harris showed the detectives his leg and pointed to a walker in the bedroom, but it seemed like the injury was not the only thing slowing Harris down.

“I wouldn’t go as far as saying he was resisting arrest, but he was definitely stalling,” Zappley said. “It was more of a passive resistance.”

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It turns out that Harris was hiding a loaded Taurus .38 special handgun while he was in bed. Detectives helped Harris out of bed and placed him under arrest. A search warrant for the rest of the bedroom was obtained and under the bed, detectives found two SKS semi-automatic rifles, one of which had a loaded 30-round magazine. Various rifle and handgun ammunition and drug paraphernalia was also found. Harris was charged with three counts of possession of a weapon, certain persons not to have a weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia.

12:00 P.M. “HIDING IN HIS MAMA’S HOUSE”

Officer Drew Astbury with the K9 unit received a call about a man in a grey hoodie with a gun on the 100 block of Boudinot Street. Astbury saw the suspect and tried to stop him, but the suspect, a juvenile, fled inside a house. While Astbury went after the suspect through the front door, Officer Pedro Perez moved to cover the rear of the home. The suspect opened the window of the second-floor middle bedroom and tossed a loaded 9mm Luger out the window, nearly hitting Perez.

“Thank goodness a round wasn’t in the chamber,” Zappley said. “It could have gone off as it hit the ground.”

Perez recovered the gun. The suspect’s mother was home and agreed to let Astbury search the home for her son. The suspect was found in the bedroom where he had tossed the gun and was placed under arrest. He has been referred to the Middlesex County Youth Home. Five bricks of heroin were also discovered in the teen’s bedroom.

7:30 P.M. “THE ‘STOLEN’ CAR”

TAC 2 detectives Aaron Bernstein and Richard Bender, along with Ptl. Zuzzio Kane of the Hamilton Police department were patrolling the West Trenton section of Ewing, when they spotted a silver 2000 Buick with three occupants looking at an object. When Bernstein approached the vehicle to shine his flashlight through the vehicle’s tinted windows, the occupants first slid down in their seats to try and hide, then the driver, later identified by police as Charles Willis, 19, of Trenton, took off. Police also observed Omar Algirner, 21, of Ewing, throw a black handgun into the back seat.

The three suspects led police on a brief car chase down Eisenhower Avenue. The suspects attempted to ditch the car and keep running in the 100 block of Oakland Street, but Willis and Karim White, 19, of Trenton, were arrested at the scene. As Algirner tried to elude Trenton police, he called Ewing police to report his Buick as stolen.

“He was trying to absolve himself from the fact that he had guns in his car,” TAC 2 Sgt. Tony Manzo said.

Ewing police noticed that Algirner had warrants for his arrest and after some back and forth with the TPD, they determined that Algernir’s story was bogus. A loaded Smith and Wesson handgun and a loaded Colt .45 were recovered. All three suspects were charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, two counts of possession of ammunition, eluding police, hindering, and certain persons not to have weapons.

8:00 P.M. “GUN IN THE SEWER”

TAC 2 Detective Brian Susche and Michael Fiabane of the prosecutor’s office were on Hamilton Avenue when they approached a man they suspected of having a weapon. The suspect, identified by police as Clifford Thomas, 25, of Trenton, led police to on a foot chase to Ardmore Street at Greenwood Avenue. During the chase, police said, Thomas threw a 9mm handgun into the sewer. The sewer was shallow and dry that day, so police were able to recover the weapon. Thomas faces weapons charges and eluding.

11:00 p.m. “GUNS, DRUGS AND A LIQUOR STORE”

TAC 2 Detectives Sam Johnson and Santiago received a tip from the sheriff’s office regarding a man with a gun on a bike outside the Jet Wine & Liquor Store in the 200 block of Willow Street. Outside the store, detectives approached Gregory Harrington, 47, of Trenton. Harrington tried to elude police by running back inside the liquor store, but Johnson dragged him back outside and placed him under arrest. Harrington is facing weapons and drug charges.

In two additional instances Thursday, Hakeem Tucker, 26, of Trenton and Aziz Glover, 20, of Trenton were arrested on outstanding warrants as part of the task force’s operation.